Chapter 207
"The current Emperor is wise and has long since amended the laws. All the property of the Li family has nothing to do with you. Therefore, you have no right to seize any of their possessions," Zhao Xincheng said, enunciating each word clearly.
"And who are you? What right do you have to meddle in our family affairs?" Li Yaozu looked at Zhao Xincheng with displeasure.
In his view, this person was probably another one hired by Li Zhiwei.
"I am but a humble official, the newly appointed magistrate of Li'an County, Zhao Xincheng." After speaking, Zhao Xincheng even cupped his hands in salute to the surrounding commoners.
"Ah, so this is the new Magistrate Zhao. He looks so young."
"I wonder if Magistrate Zhao, being so young, is married yet?"
"At this age, probably not, right?"
"Don't you think Magistrate Zhao is quite handsome?"
Soon, others also noticed Zhao Xincheng's handsome features, and their minds began to stir with ideas.
Especially those with daughters of marriageable age.
They thought, if they could marry into Magistrate Zhao's family, their own family status might rise as well.
Zhao Xincheng was initially pleased by the crowd's comments about him, but then the tone shifted.
Why did it start to feel a bit off?
The underlying meaning in everyone's words seemed to be about introducing potential marriage partners to him.
One must know, he had come to Li'an County precisely to escape his family's pressure to marry, to serve as a minor magistrate and find some peace and quiet.
"How could you possibly be the new magistrate?" Li Yaozu was unwilling to let this cooked duck fly away.
After all, the Li family's assets were substantial.
Moreover, in the past, every magistrate had made a grand, noisy entrance upon taking office.
This one arriving quietly was a first.
Therefore, Li Yaozu boldly guessed this man couldn't possibly be their new magistrate, but rather a plant hired by the Li family.
"That can't be, right? Who would dare impersonate a county magistrate?"
"Exactly, impersonating an official is a capital offense."
"Right, and isn't Miss Li's husband said to be a prince from the capital? Since he says this is the new magistrate, it must be true."
"Could it be that Li Tianyou becoming an official is also fake?"
Some even began to doubt the truth of Li Tianyou becoming an official. After all, becoming an official was no easy feat.
Yet Li Tianyou went and secured a high-ranking position right away.
This made many unwilling to believe it was true.
"Why can't I be the new magistrate?" Zhao Xincheng looked at Li Yaozu with amusement.
He thought to himself, just after taking office, someone was already delivering achievements to his doorstep.
Were they afraid he'd stay in Li'an County too long?
"Hmph, when magistrates arrive, they enter the city with great fanfare, drums and gongs. But you? Nothing! What proof do you have that you are our newly appointed magistrate of Li'an County?" Li Yaozu said, looking at Zhao Xincheng with a smug expression.
He thought, Li Zhiwei actually tried to find someone to impersonate the magistrate and talk to him about legal regulations, that the property of a family with no male heir belongs to the women?
Li Zhiwei wanting to monopolize the Li family's assets was absolutely impossible.
The crowd also looked at Zhao Xincheng with great curiosity. After all, this magistrate's arrival had been far too low-key.
They couldn't help but feel suspicious.
"That would be this official's oversight," Zhao Xincheng said with a chuckle. Then, he took out his letter of appointment and official seal from his robe to show the crowd.
However, most people present were actually illiterate. They couldn't tell if these items were real or fake.
"Who knows if your things are real or fake?" Li Yaozu persisted, stubborn as a dead duck.
"Magistrate Zhao, since he refuses to believe, why not just take him back to the county office and let him see for himself whether you are the real magistrate or not? Their behavior constitutes attempted extortion of our substantial family property. You should conduct a thorough interrogation," Xu Heming said somewhat impatiently to Zhao Xincheng, who was still arguing with those people.
"Your Highness is right. This official will take them back immediately," Zhao Xincheng dared not linger. After all, the man before him was the living King of Hell from the capital. If he let his father-in-law's family be bullied, it would be his own incompetence.
Moreover, the greed in this man's eyes was plain for anyone to see.
Hearing that this man was indeed the new magistrate of Li'an County, Li Yaozu began to panic.
They had originally thought moving into the Li family home was a sure thing.
That's why the whole family had turned out for this.
Reality, however, was slapping them hard in the face.
This left Li Yaozu feeling at a loss.
Li Yaozu looked at his father, still lying on the plank cart. He didn't want to go to the county office, much less be thrown in jail.
But from what that man just said, their problem was serious?
Didn't Father say this plan couldn't possibly fail?
The crowd watched this whole family's performance as if watching a play.
And they had been so convinced of their own cleverness, thinking their actions were perfectly reasonable.
"Li Yaozu, you'd better hurry back home. This Li family has nothing to do with yours!"
Someone teased Li Yaozu.
Li Yaozu's face darkened.
Now, he couldn't bring himself to utter any more stubborn words.
"Husband, what do we do now?" Wang Cuihua sidled up to Li Yaozu and whispered.
She again cast a greedy look at the Li family's large compound, thinking, such a fine courtyard, why couldn't it be theirs?
If her son could live in this big courtyard, even the daughter of the Xu family, the wealthy gentleman from the east side of town, would probably be scrambling to marry him.
She had already found a matchmaker, waiting for them to move in so she could propose to the Xu family.
Now, not only had they failed to move into the big courtyard, but they also had to go to the county office?
Li Chengshan's face was dark. He hadn't expected things to develop this way either. After a lifetime of hard work, when his son proposed this plan, he had considered it and thought it feasible.
Most importantly, Li Tianyou's father and he were from the same village back in the day.
They could be considered clan brothers.
It's just that the people from their village had long since scattered. Now, Li Zuoshan was gone.
Plus, the Li family only had a widow and her children at home. They figured once they moved in, getting them out wouldn't be so easy.
But this Li Tianyou's daughter was utterly unyielding.
This made Li Chengshan glare viciously at Li Zhiwei.
A faint smile curled at the corner of Li Zhiwei's lips. Did these people really think their family's possessions were so easy to take?
"Wahhh..."
A sudden wailing sound erupted.
The cry sounded utterly miserable.
Everyone looked towards the sound. On the plank cart, Old Lady Zhang of the Li Family was covering her face, crying as if in immense pain.
The crowd was puzzled. Was this old lady crying like this simply because she failed to seize someone else's courtyard?
But these things never belonged to them in the first place?
